Jason Reitman has worked with some pretty big names over the course of his career, including, most recently, Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. His next film, however, could star a near-total unknown.

The filmmaker has reportedly offered a big role in Men, Women and Children to newcomer Travis Tope. Though the 22-year-old has just one completed feature on his resume at the moment (the 2007 indie Divine Souls), he’s definitely on his way up: Tope is also considering roles in Sacha Gervasi‘s November Criminals and Rupert Wyatt‘s The Gambler. More about all three projects and their potential leading man after the jump.

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Briefly:Brie Larson has been on the rise for a few years, but 2013 has been a big year. Her role in Short Term 12 has proved to be an attention-getter; she’s great in The Spectacular Now, and she was terrific in a minor but important role in Don Jon as well. Those are just three pieces of work that are propelling Larson towards bigger movies, but coming all at once (all were Sundance debuts) has helped build momentum.

Now she’s in talks to join Mark Wahlberg in The Gambler, which is a remake of a 1974 film starring James Caan. We don’t have any details about her role, but casting for the film seems to be coming together, so we might hear more soon. Rupert Wyatt (Rise of The Planet Of The Apes, The Escapist) will direct from a script by William Monahan. [Deadline]

As filmmakers go, Martin Scorsese, Todd Phillips, and Rupert Wyatt are pretty damn different. However, they do have one project in common: The Gambler.

A few years back, Scorsese was set to direct the remake of the 1974 film, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to play the lead. He fell off at some point, and last year The Hangover helmer Phillips entered talks to take over the project. That didn’t pan out either. Now Wyatt and Mark Wahlberg are reportedly eyeing the project. Star Trek 3 it isn’t, but it sounds like an exciting next step for Wyatt nonetheless. Hit the jump for all the details.

The team behind the new Star Trek films has not yet selected a director for the part three. J.J. Abrams, who directed Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, can’t return because of his commitment to Star Wars Episode VII. That leaves the door open for someone new to come in. Names that have been rumored include Jon M. Chu and Rupert Wyatt. In a new interview Abrams, who will stay on the series as a producer, discussed the latest on Star Trek 3 and agrees that Wyatt is a very talented filmmaker. Read More »

Only one day has passed but there’s already another rumored front runner for the Star Trek 3 directing gig: Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt. Read about that, and lots more, in this edition of Sequel Bits:

A rumored plot has been revealed for a sequel to The Conjuring.

Karl Urban wants more originality in Star Trek 3.

Matt Damon is still open to Bourne and Rounders sequels.

Anchorman: The Legend Continues graces the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

Plus, we get our first hint of how Ron Burgundy starts the film.

Despite rumors, Tara Reid could still be in Sharknado 2.

The Smurfs 2 will feature extra footage in India.

22 Jump Streetmight have a big surprise cameo.

Andrew Stanton said Finding Doryoriginally came from a Disney request.

With J.J. Abrams in a galaxy far, far away, the final frontier is wide open. After the success of this year’s Star Trek Into Darkness, Paramount is getting ready to prep a third Star Trek film and the hunt for a new director is underway. The studio has yet to make a decision, but Latino Review is reporting the frontrunner is Jon M. Chu, the director of G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

Update: The director’s reps deny that Chu is connected to the film. Via email, they said “No one has contacted Jon or his reps about this project.” Now, Paramount could still be interested in him, but that may be all it is right now. Other rumors paint Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) as the next likely choice.

Rupert Wyatt got some positive notice after the his debut feature, The Escapist, but it was his next film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, that introduced him to a broader audience. And although he decided to bow out of that franchise before the sequel started shooting, he’s apparently happy to re-team with the people behind it.

Briefly: Sony and Denzel Washington want to make a new/updated version of the classic ’80s TV series The Equalizer. It’s pretty easy to see why, as the role of a former intelligence agent who offers his skills pro bono to people in need seems like something that could very easily blend Washington’s appeal with modern economic concerns to achieve some of the same popularity of a film like Taken.

But getting someone to direct the film hasn’t been a quick process. The project has been in development for a while, but since Denzel came on it has seen the director’s chair occupied for a while by Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Bronson). He moved on earlier this year. More recently, it looked likeRupert Wyatt (The Escapist, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) would make the film. But schedules didn’t work out, and Wyatt moved on. That leaves Sony looking for someone new.

Wyatt has a couple other big projects to do: he’s directing some TV (the pilot of Turn, for AMC) and just landed Nicholas Hoult to play the lead in his film adaptation of the novel Birdsong. [Deadline]

Rupert Wyatt‘s plans to return for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes didn’t quite work out, but thanks to the success of Rise of the Planet of the Apes he’s had plenty of other options to choose from. Now, he may finally have found his next film.

Wyatt has entered early talks to helm The Equalizer, Sony’s action thriller based on the ’80s TV series. Denzel Washington has been on board for some time now to play the lead, a retired secret agent who tries to redeem himself from an ugly past by helping people in need. Hit the jump to keep reading.